Tears of the Moon

The 13th of April, 2025

Oftentimes indie games come out that are throwbacks to an older style of game. These are nice, but they are still functionally modern games, and the only real thing that’s retro about them is the aesthetic. Even the first Lunacid game is like this, snappy modern gameplay but in the visual stylings of yore. Lunacid Tears of the Moon is a whole different beast, though. This game isn’t like the other popular modern indie titles that style themselves like games of the past for a new generation. Tears of the Moon actually plays like a game from 25 years ago. Obviously, this is delightful for me because it reminds me of the games I grew up with. You can see this is a point of contention for the younger generation playing the game, though, and I think that’s why it’s so rare that we see real throwback games like this. The games market loves the stylings of old, but a lot of kids these days simply don’t want to play old games. Tears of the Moon is uncompromised in its artistic vision, and it’s honestly amazing. Kira came out and said that the design intent of Tears of the Moon was to make sure it felt old, as it takes place 3000 years before the events of Lunacid.

And feel old it does! The game runs in 480p, it doesn’t utilize the mouse at all, and you walk with the arrow keys and tank controls. Anyone my age will know how delightfully dated this is, and anyone younger than me is probably on the Steam discussions right now asking why you can’t use WASD.

Lunacid (the original) had lots of horror elements; it was dark, brooding, and spooky, but there was always comfort in your friends, who were quirky, kind, and full of character, keeping the game from feeling too dark. Tears of the Moon offers no such respite. I’d describe the tone as more like Dark Souls. There are friendly characters in the hubworld, but unlike OG Lunacid, they speak sparingly, and what they do say is often sombre and brief. Because of this, the game carries a lot more of a lonely feeling. The graphics and music back this up, as they are much more simple and rudimentary as well. All of this serves the narrative purpose of the game perfectly, though I’ll not expand on that for fear of spoiling you!

How simple the game was forced to be because of the limitations of the 25-year-old engine did wonders for its design. The dungeons here are extremely fun, and I did all of this without any kind of guide since I played on day one. Nothing frustrating awaits you within Tears of the Moon; everything was placed with intent. In its simplicity, it’s masterfully designed. This simple world combined with its more rudimentary Dungeon Synth OST and extremely dated game engine results in a game with a very distinct vibe. It feels like something you may have played 20 years ago, on a moonlit night in the distant past. It’s interesting that so many indie games try to invoke this nostalgic feeling, but this is the first one I’ve played that ever actually did it successfully.

Needless to say, I recommend this game and its parent game, Lunacid. Tears of the Moon is free now on Steam. Just do yourself a favor and play it. It’s a real treat.